These were lurking under the tree on Christmas Day, and it wasn’t too long before I was beginning to wonder what they’d taste like.

The packaging was a bit of a surprise too – the top of the box lifts up and opens as it rises, a little like the Musical Box in Camberwick Green (ancient BBC Children’s programme).

The chocolates themselves were nestled inside, each clad in a very seasonal gold foil wrapper. Once unwrapped, they looked very appealing and quite pudding-like. I’m guessing that the white chocolate topping was there to represent brandy butter or cream.

Once bitten, they proved to have a lovely thick shell – no scrimping there – and a very soft, delicately spiced truffle filling which had fruity, mixed spice overtones and a sweet, creamy finish. It was after the chocolate was finished that the pudding flavours really came into their own, in a mildly pleasant way.

As ‘novelty’ chocolates go, I rather liked these. They weren’t particularly spectacular, but they were certainly the only Christmas pud chocs I’ve seen, and as such I’m glad I had a chance to taste them. There was nothing unpleasant or overpowering about them, and I did appreciate the fact that they had such chunky shells.

I suppose it’s unlikely that you’ll see these for long now, but if you do (and they’ll probably be on sale) I’d recommend them for the novelty value.